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Peregrine
2006-06-20, 02:20 PM
"Destroy it!"

The cavern shook violently as the battle raged. Demons pressed closer on all sides, and Sabella's companions were hard pressed to keep them back. Daven fell, struck down by claws and cruel whips. Cor's sword flashed in a whirl of steel, glittering like ice. He shouted at her again.

"Sabella, destroy it!"

There before her lay the Sceptre of the Lower Hells, the artifact of pure evil and malice they had come to find. Now there was no longer any hope of retrieving it and escaping alive, to deal with its destruction back at the temple; it had to be destroyed here and now.

Sabella had prepared for this. She sank to her knees and began intoning the prayer. She flung wide her arms, then looked expectantly at the sceptre.

For a moment, nothing. Then with an audible crack, the black shaft snapped cleanly in two, as its magic was undone. A soundless rushing, as if all the air in the cavern were flowing into the broken sceptre, threw Sabella forward, and the demons cowered in fear. The sceptre's power was broken! For a moment, the oppressive atmosphere felt lighter.

But then a more terrible presence filled the chamber. The Hellgod himself had come, to take retribution! But as his deathly shadow filled her vision, a light seemed to come from behind her, and Sabella fell backwards...

Well done, my child.

The presence of the God of Magic overwhelmed Sabella's senses. "Master. It is done."

It is done. But you have paid a high price.

"Am I dead?"

No. I fear your link to the weave of magic has been severed, my child.

A kind of grief came to Sabella, but still it was overlaid with perfect calm. "How can I serve you now, Master?"

There is another way. Let me teach you...

Great minds will not be denied.

[hr]
The power to control magic comes in two parts. One is the ability to touch the weave of magic. This is either inborn, or it is not. It can be lost, but never gained. The other is the talent for manipulating that weave, the mental prowess required to shape and cast spells. This can to a certain extent be studied, taught and trained.

But what of those who have studied the manipulation but lack the the ability to touch magic? For the most part, they gain nothing. A mage whose touch has been broken cannot regain it however much training she may have, and few pupils of magic can learn anything of importance if they cannot put their studies into practice. But there are a few, having the mental prowess but not the touch, who find another source of power... one that comes from within.

The psionic art is a rare one, even rarer than the touch for magic. In some, it is native, while in others it is finely trained and developed. In all, it takes a mental prowess equal to that required for magic, and perhaps greater. Some psionicists are former mages who lost the touch but not the strength of mind; some are students forced into magical studies without ever having the touch; a very few are trained from the first in psionics by other psionicists. Tales of those who could both weave magic and master psionics are held to be myths. But for the greatest of minds, who knows what is possible?

Peregrine
2006-06-20, 02:20 PM
Isolate Mind

When a powerful spellcaster loses her powers, she loses nearly everything. Years of dedicated training can be washed away in an instant, whether through strange and mighty magical powers, a brave (or malicious) attempt to destroy an evil (or good) artifact, or some other means. Isolated from the weave of magic, the keenly honed mind of a powerful spellcaster is trapped, bereft. For most, it is the end of their days of glory. Many commit suicide. Some retire, typically as far from adventure, magic and recognition as they can get. But a very few press on.

Often they find a change of career, and rarely do they continue to adventure with their former peers, now far ahead in power. Many become lone vagabonds or take up with other shadowy types. But a few... the most determined, the greatest minds... seek true power again.

An isolate mind is a fallen spellcaster whose strong mind turns inward and discovers that that way lies power. Instead of starting afresh as a psion's pupil, the isolate mind seizes on the hazy but very real relationship between magic and psionics. Though weaker than it once was, her power can still rise to significant heights quite capably.

Hit die: d4

Requirements
To qualify to become an isolate mind, a character must fulfil all the following criteria.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks OR Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks OR Knowledge (nature) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks.
Feats: Any two metamagic feats.
Special: Must have been able to cast 5th-level arcane or divine spells, then lost the ability permanently. The key ability for this spellcasting forms the basis for several of the isolate mind's class features. If the character could cast 5th-level spells from more than one class before becoming an isolate mind, she must choose which applicable ability score to use for all levels of the isolate mind class.

Class Skills
The isolate mind's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Psicraft (Int). In addition, an isolate mind gains access to additional class skills, depending on which ability score she used for her spellcasting:

Intelligence: Decipher Script, Knowledge (all skills, taken individually).
Wisdom: Heal, Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Sense Motive.
Charisma: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

{table]LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialPower Points/DayPowers KnownMaximum Power Level Known1st+0+0+0+2Wild Talent, Magical Synergy232nd2nd+1+0+0+3Transfer Metamagic653rd3rd+1+1+1+3Bonus Feat1173rd4th+2+1+1+4Improved Magical Synergy1794th5th+2+1+1+4Transfer Metamagic25114th6th+3+2+2+5Bonus Feat35135th7th+3+2+2+5Superior Magical Synergy46155th8th+4+2+2+6Use Spell Trigger58176th9th+4+3+3+6Bonus Feat72196th10th+5+3+3+7Perfect Magical Synergy88217th[/table]
Class Features:
Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: Isolate minds gain no additional weapon or armour proficiencies.

Wild Talent: An isolate mind gains Wild Talent as a bonus feat, as her mind awakens to its psionic potential.

Power Points/Day: An isolate mind's ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points she has available. Her base daily allotment of power points is given on the table above. In addition, she receives bonus power points per day based on the ability score she uses for her isolate mind class features. She may also gain power points from other sources, including her Wild Talent feat.

Powers Known/Maximum Power Level Known: At each level, an isolate mind knows a number of powers as given on the above table. She selects these powers from the psion/wilder power list. (The Expanded Knowledge feat can add additional powers known to this total.) An isolate mind can manifest any power she knows, as long as the power point cost does not exceed her current power point total or her manifester level.

To learn or manifest a power, an isolate mind must have a score in her key ability of at least 10 + the power's level. The Difficulty Class for saving throws against an isolate mind's powers is 10 + the power's level + the isolate mind's key ability modifier.

Magical Synergy: An isolate mind's background allows her deep insight into the similarities between magic spells and psionic powers. At 1st level, she adds her caster level - 8 to her manifester level. This must be her caster level in the class that provides her key ability for her isolate mind levels.

An isolate mind's magic-oriented skills also benefit her psionic skills. She gains a +2 synergy bonus if she has 5 or more ranks in the following skills: Knowledge (arcana) OR Knowledge (religion) OR Knowledge (nature): synergy bonus applies to Knowledge (psionics).
Spellcraft: synergy bonus applies to Psicraft.
Use Magic Device: synergy bonus applies to Use Psionic Device.This synergy bonus is limited to the ranks the character possessed in these skills before taking her first level in the isolate mind class.

Transfer Metamagic: At 2nd level and again at 5th level, an isolate mind may give up any metamagic feat she knows and take a metapsionic feat in its place. She must still meet any prerequisites for the new feat.

Bonus Feat: At 3rd, 6th and 9th levels, an isolate mind gains a bonus feat. This may be any psionic feat, metapsionic feat or psionic item creation feat for which she qualifies.

Improved Magical Synergy: At 4th level, the isolate mind's understanding of the relationship between magical and psionic abilities deepens. She may now add her caster level - 6 to her manifester level. She is also able to ignore any feat to which the psionics-magic transparency rule does not apply, such as Closed Mind, Force of Will, or Mental Resistance.

Superior Magical Synergy: At 7th level, the isolate mind shows an intimate understanding of the parallels between magic and psionics. She may now add her caster level - 4 to her manifester level. Her synergy bonus to skills also improves by +1 for every 2 ranks she has above 5 in the listed skills, up to a maximum of +6 for 13 ranks or more.

Use Spell Trigger: At 8th level, an isolate mind regains a fragment of her former spellcasting might. She cannot use spells herself, but she is able to use spell trigger items as if she could once again cast spells from her former class. This ability is limited to spells of 5th level or below, and the class spell list must be that of the class that provides her key ability for her isolate mind levels.

Perfect Magical Synergy: At 10th level, an isolate mind has a superlative understanding of the links between magical and psionic power. She adds her full caster level to her manifester level, and her skill synergy bonus becomes equal to her ranks in the listed skills before becoming an isolate mind.

Peregrine
2006-06-20, 02:21 PM
Crystal Gnomes
Sometimes, a severing from the weave of magic can affect an entire population. The loss is typically passed on to the offspring of those affected, and so a separate race, unable to use magic at all, can appear. This is especially likely among races with a deep affinity for magic, such as the elves or gnomes, as the severed individuals will be pushed to the fringes of a magically-oriented society.

The crystal gnomes divided from their kin so long ago that they are almost entirely unlike the more common gnomes. Larger, stronger, and without the rock gnome's tough, earthy nature, crystal gnomes have developed their psychic abilities to fill the void left by the loss of their magic.
+2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. Crystal gnomes have particularly perceptive minds, but tend to be introverted and lack personal presence.
Medium: As Medium creatures, crystal gnomes have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Crystal gnomes are as large as dwarves, standing about 4 feet tall, although they are rather more lightly built.
A crystal gnome's base land speed is 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: A crystal gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
+2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to crystalline items. Crystal gnomes are not named purely for the association between crystals and psionics; they also have an affinity for items with a crystalline structure.
+2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against powers of the telepathy discipline. Crystal gnomes have strong mental defences.
Naturally Psionic: Crystal gnomes gain 1 bonus power point at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
Weaveless: Crystal gnomes are unable to touch the weave of magic, and can never cast spells or use spell trigger or spell completion items.
Psi-Like Abilities: 1/day--empty mind. All crystal gnomes have the ability to enhance their already capable mental defences at great need. A crystal gnome with a Wisdom score of at least 13 also has the following psi-like abilities: 1/day--biofeedback, vigor. Manifester level 1st.
Automatic Languages: Common, Crystal Gnome. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Terran.
Favoured Class: Psychic Warrior. Like their better-known kin, who favour the bard class, crystal gnomes prefer a more robust lifestyle than that of the dedicated manifester.
Level Adjustment: +0